Month: January 2022

Stetson Bennett IV is the most popular man in the state of Georgia today. The 23-year-old former walk-on quarterback for the Bulldogs led Georgia’s comeback win over Alabama in Monday night’s national championship game, cementing his place in Georgia football lore. Winning a national title for Georgia will earn Bennett an awful lot of opportunities in the future. He’ll have tons of endorsements and a job in sports radio/TV waiting for him, as well as a standing tee time at Augusta National just about whenever he wants it.

He also won’t pay for a drink in the greater Athens area for as long as he lives, and that was also the case on Monday night stretching into Tuesday morning in Indianapolis as he got after it, as he should have, celebrating the Dawgs win. The only problem with that was Bennett had an early morning interview with Good Morning America on his schedule, and the result was pretty hysterical.

Bennett’s stumbling response to Michael Strahan asking if he slept much the night before is sensational, as he was out there trying his best to gut through this interview with something approaching a coherent response.

You might be thinking it’s a bit presumptuous to assume Bennett is still drunk in this video. Maybe he’s just not an early riser and is having a tough time getting his thoughts organized so early in the morning. Sure, that’s possible, but I’d like to submit to you this photo of Stetson pulling Pappy Van Winkle straight from the bottle, which was only the start of his celebration in Indy last night.

In my heyday I was known to get after it, and if I know one thing, it is that a bottle of whiskey to the face to start your night is a stone cold lock for still feeling the effects at 8 a.m. As someone who once got told at 11:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, a half a bottle of Maker’s into my night, that I needed to do a 9 a.m. video the next morning when I worked for CBS Sports, I feel a great kinship to Bennett here.

Kudos to Bennett for still doing the interview, as he surely agreed to this before taking part in the festivities of the evening, where there were enough Georgia teammates, fans, and boosters in town wanting to have a beverage with the title winning QB to ensure that his night stretched well into the wee hours of the morning. A lesser man would’ve called out of Good Morning America, but Bennett’s a grinder and wouldn’t let Michael Strahan and Robin Roberts down, just like he refused to let the Dawgs down on Monday night.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Lil Yachty is branching out musically — he’s been doing it his whole career. Despite being a really solid straight-up rapper, he made his first big splash musically with the Lil Boat mixtape, which found him singing over cloudy beats as much as spitting bruising battle raps, although he’d already proved he could do that, too. More recently, his Michigan Boy Boat mixtape saw him try on a new regional style that lent itself to his rapid-fire delivery alongside some of Michigan’s hottest up-and-comers.

But his next album might be his biggest swing yet. During an interview at Atlanta jewelry story Icebox, Yachty said his new album would depart from rap entirely. “My new album is a non-rap album,” he said. ““It’s alternative, it’s sick! I’ve always wanted to [do one] but now I’ve met all these amazing musicians and producers. It’s like a psychedelic-alternative project. It’s different and it’s all live instrumentation. I’ve changed my entire dynamic. I’m telling you, with this album and on, I’m creating music a whole lot differently.”

Among those producers is Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, with whom Yachty remixed “Breathe Deeper” last year, and his most recent solo single was the soft-rock-inspired “Love Music” — perhaps offering a glimpse of what he has in store on this mysterious new album.

Since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Rand Paul have butted heads over how the country should handle COVID mitigations. While Fauci has been a steady hand promoting best practices, Paul has been the opposite of that and has routinely engaged in conspiracy theories on the Senate floor. Despite Fauci schooling Paul every time the senator peddles some new dangerous talking point, the infectious disease doctor and his family have been the target of repeated death threats including a recent incident in December that prompted Fauci’s latest dress-down of Paul. But, this time, the good doctor came loaded with receipts.

Via Mediaite:

What happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there and I have threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children with obscene phone calls, because people are lying about me.

Now, I guess you could say, well, that’s the way it goes, I can take the hit. Well, it makes a difference. Because as some of you may know, just about three or four weeks ago on Dec. 21, a person was arrested who was on their way from Sacramento to Washington, D.C., at a speed stop in Iowa. The police asked him where he was going, and he was going to Washington, D.C. to kill Dr. Fauci. And they found in his car an AR-15 and multiple magazines of ammunition, because he thinks that maybe I’m killing people.

As for why Paul would continue to stir up the “crazies,” Fauci knows the answer: Fundraising. Armed with printouts from Paul’s campaign website, Fauci blasted the senator for raising money off of the pandemic and stirring up death threats.

“So I ask myself why would a senator want to do this? So go to Rand Paul website and you see ‘Fire Dr. Fauci’ with a little box that says ‘Contribute here.’ You can do $5, $10, $20, $100,” Fauci said from the Senate floor. “So you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain.”

In response, Paul fired back with non-specific accusations of Fauci politically attacking his own colleagues in a “politically reprehensible way.” Compared to Fauci holding a handful of undeniable receipts, it was a pretty weak response.

(Via Mediaite)

There are many topics where teachers should be required to be impartial: religion is one. Politics is another. But Nazism? Nope, that’s one area where we you’d kind of hope that the adult schooling your child would make it clear that Adolf Hitler was a very, very bad man. But Scott Baldwin, a Republican senator from Indiana, maybe isn’t so sure.

Last Wednesday, as The Washington Post reports, the lawmaker got a little overzealous in his desire to ban “divisive concepts” from being discussed at all in classrooms throughout the Hoosier State when he used the exact wrong words to explain during a Senate committee hearing that:

“I’m not discrediting, as a person, Marxism, Nazism, fascism—I’m not discrediting any of those -isms out there. And I have no problem with the education system providing instruction on the existence of those -isms. I believe that we’ve gone too far when we take a position on those -isms… We need to be impartial… We need to be the purveyors of reason.”

So… a teacher can tell their students about the existence of Nazism, racism, or “any of those -isms out there,” but cannot denounce it?

The backlash following these comments by Baldwin—who is a co-author of Senate Bill 167, which seeks to prevent such topics from being discussed, or taught, at all in school—were quickly met with criticism, which led to a bit of an about-face the next day. Baldwin issued a statement to the Indianapolis Star in which he claimed:

“When I was drafting this bill, my intent with regard to ‘political affiliation’ was to cover political parties within the legal American political system. In my comments during committee, I was thinking more about the big picture and trying to say that we should not tell kids what to think about politics.

“Nazism, Marxism and fascism are a stain on our world history and should be regarded as such, and I failed to adequately articulate that in my comments during the meeting. I believe that kids should learn about these horrible events in history so that we don’t experience them again in humanity.”

Baldwin also told the paper that he would be tweaking the wording of the bill so that it more accurately reflects his original intent.

(Via The Washington Post)

Towards the end of 2021, Hayley Williams suggested that the next Paramore album would arrive at some point in 2022. Now, she’s doubled down on that by telling Rolling Stone about being back in the studio with the band working on new material for what would be their first album since 2017’s After Laughter.

Describing the album as not necessarily a “comeback ’emo’ record,” Williams told the publication via email, “The music we were first excited by wasn’t exactly the kind of music we went on to make. Our output has always been all over the place and with this project, it’s not that different. We’re still in the thick of it but some things have remained consistent from the start. 1) More emphasis back on the guitar, and 2) Zac should go as Animal as he wants with drum takes.”

She also noted:

“We wrote and tracked something we loved and it actually surprised us. We kept joking it was all downhill from that point, but thank God we’ve been surprised a lot throughout this whole thing. I’m always waiting for the moment for us to know we’re onto something new and we’re not just rehashing the same sh*t. It was ‘Ain’t It Fun’ for our self-titled record, and ‘Hard Times’ or ‘Told You So’ for After Laughter. It’s not about it feeling like a hit so much as it’s a scary, exciting feeling that you’re treading uncharted waters. It keeps you curious. We got to feel that feeling early on this time.”

Read more from the feature here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Now that Kim Kardashian has so clearly moved on from her marriage with Kanye West, and has been spotted out with Pete Davidson many times, it was clear that Ye needed to move on as well. But perhaps no one thought he’d be doing it with the speed and publicity that he’s adopted in his early new relationship dating Julia Fox. The pair spent some time together around the New Year, and are now going out to dinner at hot spots like Carbone and Craig’s, one date even came complete with a wardrobe and photo shoot.

Julia is also on the record as a huge fan of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and from Kim’s perspective, that a can only be a good thing. TMZ is reporting that sources near Kim revealed she’s relieved that Julia is a fan, and would rather deal with someone who comes from that angle than a hater. If the relationship does progress, and Julia is around the couple’s four kids, then it only makes co-parenting easier on everyone. Since Kim is busy heading out to the Bahamas with Pete, and hanging out in Palm Springs, it seems like she’s focused on herself and truly happy her ex has moved on.

Drake’s got a plethora of hobbies — collecting women’s bags, shooting hoops with NBA players, and even hitting the links with his uncle — but the one that’s undoubtedly cost him the most over the years is his penchant for sports gambling. In 2019, Future revealed that the two spent their whole joint tour gambling. Drake’s had his share of ups and downs but after Monday’s College Football National Championship, he owes Quavo big.

Quavo, who backed his home state Georgia Bulldogs, called out Drake, who bet on the Alabama Crimson Tide, on Instagram, joking that his Canadian compadre was ducking his calls after Georgia beat Alabama, 33-18. “He ain’t answer the phone,” said Quavo. “I need my chips with dip, baby. I need my chips with dip.” The two rappers had engaged in some cheerful trash talk before the game after Quavo posted a photo of them, warning Drake, “U kno why I’m here @champagnepapi we are locked in we are down.” Drake replied, “Run me my bread right after nice and slow no sudden movements.”

It looks like Drake is regretting that bet, but in actuality, you could say he’s really just paying Quavo back after Alabama beat Georgia in the National Basketball Championship a couple of years ago. He’s probably already hoping to get it back in this year’s tournament, so good luck to both Alabama and Georgia, because this is one rivalry that’s entertaining even without the drama on the field.

Pavement are currently plotting a highly anticipated, nearly sold-out reunion tour this summer, which is finally happening after their two-show 2020 return was canceled. Before they hit the road in June, though, Pavement have something special in store for fans who weren’t able to secure tickets to their tour: The veteran indie rockers are reissuing their 1999 album Twilight Terror in a really big way.

Pavement, along with their label Matador, has unveiled details for their massive Twilight Terror: Farewell Horizontal deluxe release, a 45-track effort that features 28 unreleased songs. It is compiled with remastered originals, B-sides, home demos, rehearsal tapes, era-appropriate live recordings, and even the rough tracks from Pavement’s session at Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon studio. To celebrate the exciting announcement, the band also shared one of the previously unheard tracks, “Be The Hook,” which is now available on streaming platforms.

Listen to “Be The Hook” above and check out Pavement’s Twilight Terror: Farewell Horizontal cover art and tracklist below.

LP1 — Side A

1. “Platform Blues”
2. “The Hexx”
3. “You Are A Light”
4. “Cream Of Gold”
5. “Ann Don’t Cry”

LP1 — Side B

1. “Billie”
2. “Folk Jam”
3. “Major Leagues”
4. “Carrot Rope”
5. “Shagbag” *
6. “Speak, See, Remember”
7. “Spit On A Stranger”

LP2 — Side C

1. “The Porpoise And The Hand Grenade”
2. “Rooftop Gambler”
3. “Your Time To Change”
4. “Stub Your Toe”
5. “Major Leagues (Demo Version)”
6. “Decouvert de Soleil”

LP2 — Side D

1. “Carrot Rope (SM Demo)” *
2. “Folk Jam Moog (SM Demo)” *
3. “Billy (SM Demo)” *
4. “Terror Twilight [Speak, See, Remember] (SM Demo)” *
5. “You Are A Light (SM Demo)” *
6. “Cream Of Gold Intro (Jessamine)” *
7. “Cream Of Gold (SM Demo)” *

LP3 — Side E

1. “Spit On a Stranger (SM Demo)” *
2. “Folk Jam Guitar (SM Demo)” *
3. “You Are A Light (Echo Canyon)” *
4. “Ground Beefheart [Platform Blues] (Echo Canyon)” *
5. “Folk Jam (Echo Canyon)” *

LP3 — Side F

1. “Ann Don’t Cry (Echo Canyon)” *
2. “Jesus In Harlem [Cream Of Gold] (Echo Canyon)” *
3. “The Porpoise And The Hand Grenade (Echo Canyon)” *
4. “Spit On A Stranger (Echo Canyon)” *
5. “Be The Hook” *

LP4 — Side G

1. “You Are A Light (Jackpot!)” *
2. “Terror Twilight [Speak, See, Remember] (RPM)” *
3. “Rooftop Gambler (Jessamine)” *
4. “For Sale! The Preston School Of Industry (Jessamine)” *
5. “Frontwards (Live)” *

LP4 — Side H

1. “Platform Blues (Live)” *
2. “The Hexx (Live)” *
3. “You Are A Light (Live)” *
4. “Folk Jam (Live)” *
5. “Sinister Purpose (Live)” *

* previously unreleased

Twilight Terror: Farewell Horizontal is out 4/8 via Matador. Pre-order it here.

Lego is one of the most popular toy brands in the world, as the building blocks are not only a favorite of parents and children but of many adults who enjoy getting a box here and there as a collectible item. Since they’re so popular across many different ages it means that Lego has a large variety of sets to choose from and has licensing partnerships throughout the world of entertainment. We of course have our standard Lego blocks, but we also have Star Wars, Marvel, and numerous other officially licensed sets, including in the world of video games. Among the video games that have their own Lego sets is Overwatch which has a strong partnership with Lego to the point that Overwatch even has a dedicated page on the Lego website.

However, that partnership could be changing in the near future. As of this moment, Activision Blizzard is still in multiple lawsuits and investigations due to allegations throughout the company of abuse and poor working conditions. One of the primary demands by employees at the company has been the removal of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who currently remains in his position.

With Kotick remaining in his position, despite numerous allegations, companies like PlayStation and Xbox have hinted that this could harm future partnerships with the developer. However, while those statements were made internally, Lego has come out publicly and said that it is currently evaluating its partnership with Activision Blizzard due to its response to those workplace allegations. It has also delayed a set that was meant to coincide with the upcoming Overwatch 2. Via The Brick Fan:

We are currently reviewing our partnership with Activision Blizzard, given concerns about the progress being made to address continuing allegations regarding workplace culture, especially the treatment of female colleagues and creating a diverse and inclusive environment. While we complete the review, we will pause the release of a LEGO Overwatch 2 product which was due to go on sale on February 1, 2022.

With Activision Blizzard currently showing no signs of changing how it handled the allegations against it, and just plowing ahead, we wonder if more companies will soon follow suit and apply pressure themselves.

Many music festivals are plotting a triumphant return in 2022, and Bonnaroo is no different. The Tennessee festival announced they are slated to hold their 2022 event in late spring this year, and they’ve just shared a list of all the musicians fans can expect to see. J. Cole, Tool, and Stevie Nicks will headline the three-day festival alongside a number of eclectic artists.

Returning the weekend of June 16-19, 2022, Bonnaroo will once again take place on the Bonnaroo Farm, which is located just 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, TN. In press materials, the festival noted they’ve listened to fan feedback and will implement “an array of additional activities and site improvements,” including, wayfinding help, pedicabs for transportation, cooling stations, charging stations, and more.

Along with J. Cole, Tool, and Stevie Nicks performing as headliners, Bonaroo has booked artists like Roddy Ricch, The Chicks, Flume, 21 Savage, Machine Gun Kelly, Tinashe, Tierra Wack, Illenium, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Disclosure, Lord Huron, The War On Drugs, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Goose, Bleachers, Isaiah Rashad, Slowthai, The Weather Station, Indigo De Souza, Jessie Murph, Arlo Parks, Claud, Fletcher, and more.

Check out Bonnaroo 2022’s full lineup below.

Tickets to Bonnaroo 2022 on sale 1/13 at 12 pm CDT starting at $299 for general admission. Get them here.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.